Parents asked to fund hockey trip
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday March 4, 2016 11:54
The BHA has requested each player to contribute P5,000 towards the trip but parents are not impressed. One of the parents, Thobane Morake, said it would be better if the trip was cancelled if there are no funds.
He said children could not be expected to travel without the assistance of Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC). Morake queried about who would take the blame if anything happens to the players while they are in Namibia since there is no provision of insurance and medical covers.
He said the players would be representing the country and there should be under the care of the BNSC. Morake said the amount that they are requested to contribute is too high.
Team manager, Bronwyn Knott, said most of the players are based in Selebi-Phikwe and it is difficult for the parents to raise such amounts.
She said most of them are working at BCL Mine and sometimes they do not get salaries due to the current situation at the mine. She said they followed procedure when requesting funds from BNSC.
“Parents are not happy about having to meet the costs. We have decided to find our own accommodation and transport. Unlike other teams we would be taking care of our catering. We cannot afford to miss this competition,” she said.
BHA chairperson, Unaswi Matebu said they had requested parents to seek sponsorship for their children. She said the BHA gets its funding from the BNSC but the mother body had said there are no funds.
“We sent a request for funding in January but the commission did not reply,” he said. “We received their reply late in February informing us that there were no funds. The procedure is that funds are requested a month before the event and we did that.” Matebu said the BHA grant of P200, 000 that they received in 2015 was exhausted in December.
She said the BNSC informed them that they could not be funded as the commission was going through transition. She said if the team failed to travel, they are possibilities of losing out on their development programme. Matebu said hockey hardly competes outside the country despite their intensive training.
“I did not get formal communication about the transition period and how we were going to be assisted as affiliates during that period,” he said. “We have also requested our grant to be increased.”